This is my personal blog. I was Branch Secretary of Lambeth UNISON from 1992 to 2017 and a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of UNISON, the public service union (www.unison.org.uk) from 2003 to 2017.
I am Chair of Brighton Pavilion Constituency Labour Party and of the Sussex Labour Representation Committee (LRC).
Neither the Labour Party nor UNISON is responsible for the contents of this personal blog. (Nor is my employer!)

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Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Say NO to racism and fascism in Barking and Dagenham

The following is from an Email circular received yesterday evening - for anyone who can get to Barking this evening...

Say NO to racism and fascism in Barking and DagenhamWednesday 6th September 2006,5.30pm onwardsProtest outside the Barking & Dagenham council meeting at Barking Town HallClockhouse Avenue, IG11 7LU Nearest train/tube: Barking

called by Barking & Dagenham Alliance Against Rascism & Fascismsupported by SERTUC and the TGWU Region 1 (South and East Anglia Region)

Since the British National Party (BNP) has targeted our borough, there has been a rise in the number of racist attacks, including two stabbings and other violent assaults since the local elections.

Barking Race Equality Council (BREC) which collates statistics for racist incidents in the borough have recorded a year on year rise since 2002: in 2002/3, a total of 413 racist incidents were recorded by BREC, an average of 34.4 incidents a month. In 2003/4, the figure went up to 486 (monthly average 40.5), 2004/5, they increase by over 200 incidents in the year to 693 (57.75 incidents a month), in 2005/6, 699 incidents were recorded (58.25) and 2006/7, 248 incidents have already been recorded in the first four months from April 2006, averaging 62 incidents a month.

These figures show that, in the 2 years between 2004 and 2006, racist incidents recorded by BREC have increased by a shocking 71.9%. This corresponds with increased BNP acitivity in the area. In June 2004 the BNP recorded by far the highest vote averaging 20.5% in the Barking and Dagenham borough in the London Assembly elections, in September 2004 the BNP gained a councillor in Goresbrook with over 50% of the vote, the BNP recorded 16.89% - the highest vote - in the Barking constituency in the general election 2005 (up from 6.4% in 2001, when Barking was one of the five constituencies where the BNP saved their deposit). By contrast, the same period saw a year on year fall in the number of racist attacks recorded by the Met Police across London.

Since May's local council elections, the BNP has 12 council seats in Barking and Dagenham, the highest number of BNP councillors in any single authority in the country.The BNP is a racist organisation: in Barking, they spread racist lies about African communities in order to win votes.The BNP is a fascist group: in several documentaries, key BNP members have been filmed praising Hitler and the Nazis. Fascism and the Nazis are responsible for the mass murder of millions of people, who they tried to systematically annihilate. We call on all those who are concerned at the advances by the BNP in Barking and Dagenham to join us in a protest outside the full council meeting. We will call similar protests regularly to ensure that the anti-BNP message is heard.

Barking & Dagenham Alliance Against Racism and Fascism “ Barking & Dagenham Alliance Against Racism and Fascism (B&DAARF) is a black* organisation of community groups, local community activists, public and voluntary sector workers, trade unionists and many others concerned at the rise of racism and fascist activity in the borough.

(*The term black in this context is used to refer to people of African, Caribbean, Asian and other visible minority origins with a common experience of racism and discrimination.)

May 2006 local elections have been accompanied by a number of serious racist attacks in Barking and Dagenham. Racist myths about African communities have been used to advance racist politics and Islamophobia has been whipped up with the sole aim of causing division and stoking up hatred. B&DAARF is opposed to these very worrying developments and exists to challenge them in an equal alliance with all others similarly concerned with the recent events. B&DAARF welcomes support and solidarity from and will work with other organisations and individuals in the borough that support its aims."